Google MapsCouncillors have been asked to consider more flexible arrangements for tour buses to park at Helensburgh’s waterfront, but not everybody agrees.
Cameron Foy, of Destination Helensburgh, raised the matter at a meeting of local councillors after Argyll and Bute Council funded new bus parking in Rothesay.
Councillor Fiona Howard described the idea of coach parking in other parts of Helensburgh as “ludicrous” and said she was keen to change arrangements.
However, Councillor Gary Mulvaney (Helensburgh Central, Conservative) had a different view, saying there was “potential” for coaches to park outwith the main town centre.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Tuesday, June 10.
Foy said: “People in Rothesay have recently welcomed the decision by Argyll and Bute Council to fund new bus parking on their waterfront.
“At the moment in Helensburgh we will have no coach parking at all, because the committee decided to change parking bays into waiting bays for 20 minutes maximum.
“Would this committee reverse that decision so that coaches can stay there for longer? If you do not have bus bays, tour companies will not come to Helensburgh.
“They will take visitors to Balloch or Luss instead, so that is a loss of revenue.”
Councillor Howard then said: “I have been babbling on about this for years, and I am not giving up. I am still really angry about it.
“We need more than two bus spaces, and they need to be for waiting so that customers and bus companies can go back to the bus or get back out and go for a coffee or rest.
“They should not have to wait in the rain for their bus to appear from somewhere else.”
Councillor Ian MacQuire (Independent, Helensburgh Central) added: “I have looked at this since I was in charge of the pier group. Some parties will not visit Helensburgh because there is nowhere to park.
“I brought it up when the plans first came out for the pool, and it fell on deaf ears. They need to start listening to us and the public.”
Councillor Mulvaney responded: “The 20-minute stay was part of the traffic regulation order, and I disagree with colleagues.
“When you had the free parking area at the foot of the pier, it was generally school buses and not coaches using it.
“My experience of other tourist towns is that coach parking is not in the town centre. You have drop-off places in the town centre, which is where the 20-minute stay comes in.
“There is potential for buses to park at the Commodore Hotel or Station Road. I am not convinced by the argument that they should park all day in the town centre.
“If you are talking about the cruise market, they are completely different. When cruise liners come into Greenock for the day, they go to Edinburgh or St Andrews, and we cannot compete with the pull of those places.”
Councillor MacQuire replied: “I have to disagree. I have had several meetings with a company that runs these.
“Our last meeting was at the church in the square, and Councillor Mulvaney was there with the director of European Cruises. He said he would love to bring people to Helensburgh for a tour including the Hill House and Loch Lomond Shores.”
Councillor Howard added: “I desperately disagree with Councillor Mulvaney. We have already lost some regulars who bring in £150,000 a year to the town’s shops, and are looking at not returning.
“This is a desperate loss for Helensburgh. They are letting people off at the seafront and parking at the Commodore, which does not work for anybody.
“The idea of putting them at Craigendoran is even more ludicrous, because there are no facilities there.
“I would never vote for the situation we have now, and if there is a chance to change it, I will be taking it.”
Clerk Stuart McLean also stated that any changes to the traffic regulation order would require approval of an entirely new traffic regulation order.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
